Written by new-contact on Dec 15, 2014. Posted in On Location

Submarine drama Hunter Killer to film on location in Alaska

Submarine drama Hunter Killer is set to film on location near Anchorage in Alaska. Most of the shoot is reportedly scheduled for the small town of Whittier, 60 miles from the state capital. Whale rescue drama Big Miracle is among the recent high-profile films to have shot in Alaska.

Alaska offers a generous filming incentive programme with a transferable tax credit worth a base rate of 30%, but this increases for productions that shoot in more remote parts of the state.

“If they’re planning on hiring lots of Alaskans, all the crew you could possibly get, and filming exclusively in a rural community in Alaska, there’s no way they’re probably going to get (back) less than 40 percent,” said Kelly Mazzei, executive director of the Alaska Film Office, in comments to the Alaska Despatch News.

The state also incentivises local crew hire and shooting in the October to March off-season. Altogether, a production that satisfies all the criteria and spends at least USD 75,000 in Alaska can get a tax credit worth a generous 58% of its local spend.

Despite the generosity of the tax credit, Alaska has had trouble attracting big-budget feature productions. The organisation of the incentive itself has been politically divisive, while a small local crew pool and regional accessibility issues have been off-putting for the US studios.

Alaska offers a generous filming incentive programme with a transferable tax credit worth a base rate of 30%.

Big Miracle and serial killer movie The Frozen Ground (above) have been among the few high-profile features shot in Alaska since the incentive was launched.

Places like British Columbia and Alberta are popular and easily-accessible stand-ins for Alaska and other northern locations. Vancouver Island doubled for Alaska in Man of Steel and Calgary stood in for Yukon in the historical miniseries Klondike.

Martin Campbell is set to direct Hunter Killer. The filmmaker has twice helped reboot the James Bond franchise, helming both Pierce Brosnan’s Goldeneye and Daniel Craig’s 007 debut Casino Royale.

(Image: Voltage Pictures)